Students in the Literature specialization of the M.A. in English

Native speakers of English

All students completing the M.A. degree in English with a specialization in Literature must complete a requirement in the study of language. Students must do one of the following:

• complete two years or their equivalent of college-level study in a single foreign language with an average grade of C or higher
OR
• take the placement exam (in German, French, or Spanish) offered by the Department of World Languages and Cultures and achieve a score certifying proficiency in that language equivalent to satisfactory completion of two years at the college level
OR
• complete, with a grade of B or higher, English 523, Introduction to Old English Language and Literature*
OR
• complete, with a grade of B or higher, 3 credit hours of graduate linguistics

Nonnative speakers of English

To satisfy the language requirement, nonnative speakers of English who did not graduate from a U.S. institution must

• pass the English Placement Test (as a graduate student); if students fail this examination, they will be required to take English classes

Nonnative speakers of English who did graduate from a U.S. institution must

• submit to the Graduate College the Graduate English Requirement Approval form. Two conditions must be met:

1) the student must have received a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. degree from a U.S. college or university and

2) the language of instruction at that college or university must have been in English.

Students in the M.A. in TESL/Applied Linguistics

The spirit of this requirement is that students will have had a language learning experience before they graduate, either in the recent past or concurrent with working toward their degree.

Native speakers of English

The following are the most typical ways for native speakers of English to fulfill the requirement. Students who believe they have fulfilled the spirit of the requirement in other ways can write a petition explaining their situation. To satisfy the language requirement, students must

• have completed one year or its equivalent of college-level study in a single language with a grade of B or higher, as shown on a transcript, no more than five years before beginning graduate work in the TESL/Applied Linguistics program; students who finished at least one year of college-level language study more than five years before beginning graduate work in TESL/Applied Linguistics must complete one semester of college-level study of any foreign language with a grade of B or higher, concurrent with working toward the degree
OR
• complete one year or its equivalent of college-level study in a single language, with a grade of B or higher in the second semester, concurrent with working toward the degree
OR
• demonstrate proficiency in a single language by means of an approved examination at a level equivalent to one year of college-level study
OR
• provide clear evidence of a bilingual background

Nonnative speakers of English

To satisfy the language requirement, nonnative speakers of English who did not graduate from a U.S. institution must

• pass the English Placement Test (as a graduate student); if students fail this examination, they will be required to take English classes

Nonnative speakers of English who did graduate from a U.S. institution must

• submit to the Graduate College the Graduate English Requirement Approval form. Two conditions must be met:

1) the student must have received a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. degree from a U.S. college or university and

2) the language of instruction at that college or university must have been in English.